Hunter Johnson (MHR ‘20) is producing a documentary on the role of the press in combating enforced disappearances and impunity in Mexico. “Since 2006, over 40,000 people have disappeared in Mexico. This film illustrates how exceptional reporters work with victims' families to demand state accountability in the search for their loved ones, helping to put an end to this ongoing human rights crisis.” Hunter received the Dunn Peace Research Scholarship to investigate and film this project in Mexico.

Following the fall of Omar al-Bashir in Sudan and installment of a Transitional Military Council (TMC), negotiations of transitioning power to a civilian-led government recently soured, leading the TMC to open fire on pro-democracy demonstrators. With the death toll rising and with additional crackdowns on demonstrators, concerns about human rights and the risks to securing a peaceful transition to democratic rule are heightened.

Rising U of MN Senior Tony Burton and rising U of MN Junior Tala Alfoqaha have been selected as the 2019 Fraser Fellows. Tony, a Political Science Major and Tala, double majoring in Mathematics and Global Studies will intern at ECPAT-USA and The Advocates for Human Rights, respectively. This will offer the undergraduate students hands-on opportunities to practice human rights research and advocacy alongside human rights professionals.

Brooke Chambers, a third year Sociology PhD student, studies some of the most difficult questions facing human rights scholars--how to understand and respond to the multi-generational effects of instances of mass violence. With a particular focus on the Rwandan genocide, Brooke is using her education to seek a better understanding of how genocidal violence reverberates throughout space and time, along with how Rwandan society remembers and commemorates the Genocide. Next semester she will conduct field research in Rwanda, interviewing young adults about their experiences growing up in a post-genocide society.

Since graduating from the University of Minnesota, Sarah Super has been unstoppable in raising awareness around sexual violence and advocating for survivors. Read more about the work she is doing, including her diligent efforts to raise funds for a Memorial for Survivors of Sexual Violence. Please consider making a donation to make this project possible.

As the United Nations and its member states gear up for the 2019 Climate Action Summit, a meeting where stakeholders will make pledges around implementing the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, individuals should also consider their impact on climate change. Outright denial, or more commonly, compliance towards climate change-related issues is likely to have significant and devastating impacts on the world's most vulnerable populations. Read why Global Studies undergraduate student Mahad Omar believes it is incumbent on us all, individuals and nations states alike, to combat climate change.

The way the public comes to understand instances of genocide and mass violence is complex and mediated through a variety of voices. Public officials, textbook representations, official court records, and survivor or perpetrator testimony can all contribute to representations mass violence. Claims of genocide denial can also be furthered through similar means. Sociology Professor Joachim Savelsberg and Law Professor Fionnuala Ni Aoláin's HRI-funded research project, "Mnemonic Struggles Over the Gravest Human Rights Violations: The Armenian Genocide in Griswold v. Driscoll and Beyond," investigates how court proceedings and the debates that unfold during them can further or stifle claims of genocide.

As journalists and activists continue reporting on the human rights violations happening in immigration detention, Human Rights and Immigrant Rights organizations and advocates mobilize to lobby their Congressional leaders to vote against additional appropriations for immigrant detention facilities. Among them are a group of Minnesota students, including three Master of Human Rights students. The team recently attended the FCNL Lobby Weekend in Washington D.C. and were given extensive training on how to lobby Congressional leaders on issues related to immigration and refugee rights. They also were able to practice their new skills by lobbying four of Minnesota's Congresswomen to vote against increased funding for immigration detention, among other issues.

Call for Applications - The Fraser Human Rights Fellowship offers two undergraduate students interested in human rights work the opportunity to work at one of two human rights organizations during the summer, The Advocates for Human Rights in Minneapolis or ECPAT-USA in New York. These positions will provide the fellows with hands on human rights experience at internationally-renowned organizations. Students will also receive financial support to help finance their fellowship experiences.